Requirements

Admission Facts for Fall 2014

Admission Require​ments

The following are required for admission to the Occupational Therapy graduate degree program:

Baccalaureate Degree

A bachelor’s degree from an institution that is accredited by one of the regional accrediting associations (e.g. Higher Learning Commission) must be completed; or (for St. Catherine undergraduate students) an approved dual-degree plan for completing the baccalaureate degree during the MAOT program.

GPA

Undergraduate cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

GRE

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required only for applicants with an undergraduate cumulative GPA below 3.2 (the requirement is waived for those applicants if they completed a graduate degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0). The test date must be within five calendar years prior to the term of intended enrollment. Candidates will report their unofficial GRE scores in OTCAS. If admitted to our MAOT program, official GRE scores must be submitted to St. Catherine University directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

GRE scores will not be taken into consideration for applicants with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

Prerequisite Course Work

It is strongly recommended that all prerequisite courses be completed within the past ten years.

Prerequisite coursework must be completed with grade of C or above (Pass/Fail or S/U grading is not acceptable), with a cumulative prerequisite GPA of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale. One prerequisite course may be repeated once.

Applicants must have a minimum of five* prerequisite courses completed (with credits and grades noted on transcripts) at the time of application. Of those five courses, at least two must be in anatomy, physiology or statistics. The remaining two prerequisite courses must be completed prior to the beginning of the fall semester.

Human Anatomy**
(3-4 semester/4-5 quarter credits)
Human anatomy (often the first half of a combined anatomy and physiology sequence). These credits must be from an anatomy, biology, physiology or kinesiology department and must cover individual muscle function.
St. Kate's equivalent: BIOL 2400 or BIOL 2510

Human Physiology**
(3-4 semester/4-5 quarter credits)
Human physiology (often the second half of a combined anatomy and physiology sequence). These credits must be from a biology or physiology department.
St. Kate's equivalent: BIOL 2410 or BIOL 2520

Lifespan Development Psychology
(3-4 semester credits)
This course must cover the entirety of the human lifespan from birth through late adulthood. Multiple courses can be completed to fulfill the requirement (i.e Child Psychology, Adolescent Psychology, Adulthood and Aging); however, only one course is necessary if it covers all of the components.
St. Kate's equivalent: PSYCH 2025

*St. Catherine undergraduate students who are pursuing the dual-degree option have additional credit and course requirements to fulfill their liberal arts major. Specific requirements vary based on the year of initial enrollment in the undergraduate program. Contact your academic advisor to confirm the details of your plan of study.

**At least one of these courses must include a lab. The Anatomy and Physiology I and II course sequence is equivalent if both courses are completed.

Course equivalencies for St. Catherine prerequisites

Use the online Transfer Evaluation System (TES) resource to determine if a specific course you have taken (or plan to take) will fulfill an MAOT prerequisite requirement. All St. Catherine course equivalencies listed in TES are fully verified by our Registrar’s Office.

How to use TES

1. Make note of the St. Catherine department abbreviation (BIOL, CHEM, MATH, etc.) and course numbers in the MAOT prerequisite list above.

3. Identify the institution from which you have completed courses (or plan to complete courses). You may search for institutions using the “Find Transfer College by Name” search box, or use the alphabetical index provided.

4. Enter the course code for one of our MAOT prerequisites (e.g., MATH 1080). Select “Home Course” and click on Search. This will identify any courses from the institution that are equivalent to the St. Catherine prerequisite course. You could also enter the code for the other institution’s course, and select “Transfer Course” and Search. This will identify any St. Catherine courses that might be equivalent to the other institution’s course.

If you have searched via TES and can’t find a specific school or course listing, contact your admission counselor for assistance. Please include the institution, course name and number, and course description in your email.

Transcript Review

Due to the high volume of interest in the MAOT program, the Office of Graduate Admission does not review unofficial transcripts to determine the completion of prerequisite coursework. After the OTCAS application form and official transcripts are submitted, an evaluation of previous coursework is completed and applicants are notified of any outstanding prerequisite courses.

Please note that official transcripts must be sent directly to the OTCAS Transcript Processing Center, and should not be sent to St. Catherine University during the application process. View application instructions »

Recommendations

Three recommendations are required as part of the MAOT application process. One recommendation must be from a supervisor in a work, internship, or volunteer setting. The remaining two recommendations should be from professional and/or academic references. Recommendations are submitted directly to OTCAS. St. Catherine University considers only the first three references listed in the OTCAS application.

Volunteer/Work Experience

Applicants must complete a minimum of two volunteer and/or work experiences in an occupational therapy or related setting prior to applying. Each experience must be a minimum of 25 hours each. Include responsibilities and leadership roles within each experience. Demonstrate evidence of careful career exploration, and the ability to work with individuals of various age groups, disabilities and diverse backgrounds, etc. Applicants will document the details of their work/volunteer experiences in the OTCAS application.

Petition Process

Applicants who do not meet one or more of the following MAOT admission requirements must submit a petition to have their application considered:

Cumulative GPA (applicants with a cumulative GPA below 3.2 will report their unofficial GRE scores in OTCAS, in addition to submitting the petition to St. Catherine University)

Prerequisite GPA

Prerequisite courses (if more than one prerequisite course with a grade lower than C has been/will be repeated)

Petitions must include an explanation of factors that affected previous academic performance, as well as the applicant's plan to ensure academic success in a graduate program. Petitions are submitted directly to St. Catherine University, separate from the required Supplemental Essay.

Information Sessions

It is highly recommended that you attend one of our information sessions to learn more about the MAOT program and the admission process.